Telling what it's like to work on recovering from the effects of alcoholism through Al-Anon

Monday, September 3, 2007

Not much labor

After all the rain of the past couple of days, it was nice to see the sun shine and feel fall in the air. I had the day off so I spent the morning at home taking care of a few things. In the afternoon, I went down to the local tall ship to do some volunteer work. I've enjoyed spending time doing dock watches and going for a sail or two. The tall ship program is about marine education and teamwork for children in the state. It's a neat idea and one that I hope will enhance education in a state that really needs it.

After being on the tall ship, I went to Compass Rose and grilled a couple of steaks, talked with the neighbors on their boats, and watched some fireworks over the city. I am thankful to have a peaceful place to go to. Home is peaceful but filled with so many reminders of a lifetime, of my parents lifetime, and of the current state of our lives together. Sometimes, I just need to be where there are no reminders and only the bare necessities are present. The boat is like a treehouse--a place to reconnect with myself.

I chair the meeting tomorrow at an Al-Anon meeting and am thinking about a topic. I would like to talk about the difficulties in having one person change when the other one appears "stuck". It might hit too close to home for me though. So perhaps I'll suggest a topic dealing with self-rightousness. That seems to be an easy spot for me to slip into and I know that it isn't productive. I need to practice acceptance and not get sucked into thinking that I have the answers. My HP has the answers if I'll just keep quiet and listen.

hey! just wanted to thank you for your post yesterday. you mentioned the staying in the day and not projecting into the future, going back into the past etc. and for the first time i got to thinking about that phrase 'staying in the day'. and i think it struck me only then what it actually means...

HOW IT SUCKSRarely have we seen a person fail who followed us home. Those who are not BRAINWASHED are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this garbage, usually men and women who are constitutionally capable of thinking for themselves. There are such fortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born premature. They are naturally capable of building and developing muscles, which demands rigorous training. Their chances are 6/4 on.There are those, too, who are gravediggers and undertakers, but many of them do become ZOMBIES if they have the capacity to be dishonest. Our stories disclose in a twisted way, who we like, what happened, and who we hate now. If you have decided you want a cup of tea and are willing to go to any lengths to become emotionally shutdown, SHIFT SHAPING REPTILES - then you are ready to take certain steps.At some of these we balked, we thought we could find someone to 13th Step. And we realised, we could. With all the madness at our command, we beg of you to become Bill Wilson Clones - from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our BIG BOOKS and the result was nil until we let go of our SPONSORS. Remember that we deal with alcohol, frothy, bubbly, and powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is one who has all power that one is the BARMAN. May you find Him now! Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the bar. We asked the BARMAN for a couple of stiff whiskies. Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program to INSANITY:1.We admitted we were powerless over Coca - Cola, and decided to drink Pepsi, instead.2.Came to believe that Cold Power was a detergent.3.Made a decision to turn our heads when we saw an attractive blonde.4.Did a body search of the new members.5.Admitted to our DOG, to elves, and to another super being the exact nature of our songs.6.Were entirely ready to have SUPERMAN remove the effects of kryptonite.7.Humbly asked CLARK KENT to remove our brains.8.Made a list of all persons who owed us money, and became willing to charge them interest.9.Made direct hits wherever possible, except when someone moved the target.10.Continued to talk crap and when we were wrong, promptly talked more crap.11.Sought through our mail and computer to improve our conscious contact with BATMAN, as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of ROBIN and the return of SPIDERMAN.12.Having had a stroke as the result of these steps, we tried to carry out the garbage, and fell flat on our backs. Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain their homes and 13th Step the newcomers, at the same time. We are not psychopaths. The point is, that we are willing to become psychotic. The principles we have set down are guides to psychosis. We claim that Bill Wilson was a psychopath.Our description of the landscape, the chapter to the Gnostic, and our family photos before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:(a) That we were ugly and could not manage our own appearance.(b) That probably no photographer could have improved our looks.(c) That a PLASTIC SURGEON could and would if he were sought.HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!